NIST Partners with Private Sector to Improve Online Security and Privacy
September 19, 2013 – The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) this week awarded grants totaling more than $7 million to five organizations to develop pilot identify protection systems. The awards are the second round of grants for a project launched in 2011 — the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace, or NSTIC. The program serves as a wonderful example of collaboration between the private sector, advocacy groups and public sector agencies to develop online options for consumers that are convenient, secure and private.
The selected pilot proposals advance the NSTIC vision that individuals and organizations adopt secure, efficient, easy-to-use, and interoperable identity credentials to access online services in a way that promotes confidence, privacy, choice and innovation.
The following organizations will receive funding in support of ongoing NSTIC pilots:
- Exponent will receive $1,589,400 for its pilot to issue secure, easy-to-use and privacy-enhancing credentials–called “derived credentials”–to the Defense Department, among other participants;
- Georgia Tech Research Corporation will receive $1,720,723 for its pilot to develop and demonstrate a Trustmark Framework for the Identity Ecosystem, in the form of a badge, image or logo displayed on a website;
- Privacy Vaults Online, Inc. will receive $1,611,349 to pilot tools that will help online service providers and consumers implement the requirements of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act;
- ID.me, Inc. will receive $1,204,957 to develop and pilot trusted identity tailored to service members, military families and vets access sensitive government information online by interacting closely with General Services Administration programs and the Federal Cloud Credential Exchange; and
- Transglobal Secure Collaboration Participation, Inc. will receive $1,264,074 for its pilot to deploy trusted credentials to conduct secure business-to-business, government-to-business and retail transactions for small and medium-sized businesses and financial services companies.